Amritsar, the second metropolitan city of Punjab has a total population of 10, 16,079 persons (including out growth) and ranked 33rd in the list of 35 metropolitan cities as per census 2001 and ranks 274th in the world’s list of 1000 largest urban settlements (2005). The population growth rate of Amritsar M.C. has been analyzed from time period of 1901 up to 2001 which is shown in the figure below.

The population density in Amritsar was of the order of 1,190 persons/square kilometers in 2001 where as density in rural area stood at 481 persons/square kilometer. In comparison to that, the population density of Amritsar city was 7,137 persons per sq.km. Among the 4 urban settlements, the density of Rayya stands at 1,113 per sq.km which is highest with Rajasansi having the least population density of the order of 785 per sq.km. Due to such high density, prevailing in the city core poor quality of life and unhealthy living conditions have been witnessed which requires special strategies.

2.7.1.3 SEX RATIO

The over all sex ratio for the Amritsar stands at 865 which is less than the district and state figure of 872 and 876 females/1000 males respectively.

Table 8: Sex Ratio in Amritsar

Category of Settlements

Sex Ratio (No. of Females/1000 Males)

1981

1991

2001

Amritsar (MC)

853

883

865

Majitha (M Cl)

896

869

889

Jandiala (M Cl)

907

893

869

Rayya (NP)

898

787

904

Raja Sansi (NP)

-

892

848

Villages

872

Source: Census of India 1981, 1991, 2001
There has been decrease in the sex ratio of M.C Amritsar from 883 in 1991 to 865 in 2001. It has been observed that Rayya has the highest sex ratio of 904 and Rajasansi has the lowest sex ratio of 848. (Refer table no.7 ). This decrease in sex ratio could be due to increasing male migration in the city for work and other reasons.
2.7.1.4 MigrationMigration forms an important component of process of urbanization. Census of India defines the migration in two ways viz.
Migrants by Place of Birth: Migrants by place of birth are those who are enumerated at a village/town at the time of census other than their place of birth.
Migrants by Place of Last Residence: A person is considered as migrant by the place of last residence, if the place in which he is enumerated during the census is other than his place of immediate last residence.

Migration at Punjab Level: The migration data provided in the Migration Tables of Primary Census Abstract by Place of Last Residence is of two types. The first one is related to all types of migrants while the second one is concerned with migrants seeking work/employment. The data available for both categories are for in-migrants and are for urban population of Amritsar district. To calculate the data for Amritsar city, the share of Amritsar city population in the urban population of Amritsar district is considered i.e. 91.5%, and the same is applied to take out the number of in-migrants for Amritsar city from the in-migrants in urban population of district. The migration data for all types of in-migrants for Amritsar city is given in the table below:
Total_Migrants_and_Migrants_in_Last_10_Years_by_Place_of_Last_Residence_to_Amritsar_city_(2001)'>Table 9: Total Migrants and Migrants in Last 10 Years by Place of Last Residence to Amritsar city (2001)

Note: Here “district of enumeration” term includes Tarn Taran District too.The total number of migrants since 1971 to Amritsar city is around 3.2 lakhs, out of which more than half had the last residence within the Amritsar District (includes Tarn Taran). Less than 1/5th of the migrants have moved from the other districts of the state only while more than 1/5th come from the other states of the country. Only 1/20th migrants have migrated from outside countries. In case of migration occurred in the last 10 years, almost 2/5th of the migration is of intra district type showing a decline in percentage share in comparison to that of total data. Almost the same numbers i.e. 30,644 are migrants from other states showing a substantial percentage rise. On the other hand, the share of foreign in-migrants has fallen down drastically to 1.58%.

Table 10: Total Migrants by Place of Last Residence from different states to Amritsar City (2001)

State

For All Years (since 1971)

For Last 10 Years

No. of Migrants

%age of Total Migrants

No. of Migrants

%age of Total Migrants

Uttar Pradesh

24,039

33.58

10,770

35.14

Himachal Pradesh

9,414

13.15

2,967

9.68

Bihar

9,277

12.96

5,202

16.98

Haryana

4,657

6.50

1,710

5.58

Delhi

3,957

5.53

1,373

4.48

Jammu & Kashmir

3,282

4.58

1,288

4.20

Rajasthan

3,238

4.52

1,250

4.08

West Bengal

2,502

3.49

1,036

3.38

Uttaranchal

2,234

3.12

981

3.20

Others

8,992

12.56

4,067

13.27

TOTAL

71,596

100

30,644

100.00

Source: Census of India, 2001

While comparing the interstate migration, i.e. the migration happened within the country but outside Punjab, the total number of migrants is 71,596. Out of these, 1/3rd alone is from Uttar Pradesh while more than 1/10th is from Himachal Pradesh and Bihar, each. The other important contributors with more than 3% share are Haryana, Delhi, J & K, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Uttaranchal. The other states constitute more than 1/10th of the migrants.

In case of migration happened between 1991 and 2001, almost 30 thousand people are expected to have come up in the city for work and other reasons. Out of these, again U. P. has the largest share with more than 1/3rd of the migrant people. Bihar ranks second registering 1/6th migration, while H. P. comes third with less than 1/10th migration to Amritsar city. The share of states other than those listed above is again more than 1/10th of the migration happened in the last 10 years.

Tabl 11: Migration of Workers by Place of Last Residence to Amritsar city (2001)